Royal Blood
by SLioniello
Summary: Two years have passed since the 'eternal' winter and everyone seems to be happy. Everyone except Elsa. Elsa desires a carefree life of adventure but understands it is impossible for her. She is Queen now and has responsibilities in the Kingdom. Never would she be able to predict the revelation she uncovers in her family's archive that turns her world upside down.
1. Chapter 1

Elsa spent hours in her family archive every day. As Queen, her advisors said she should know every major detail concerning the kingdom's past. She had already finished all of the books in the archive. She knew every detail about Arendelle's past; exports, imports, wars, famines. Anything. She had even added her own scroll telling the story of the eternal winter she accidently caused.

She looked out the window and eyed the North Mountain. She loved that she didn't have to hide anything from the Kingdom anymore but she yearned for adventure. The freedom she experienced outside her castle sparked her desire for that type of life; a life with no responsibilities or expectations. She snapped out of her thoughts and returned her attention to the bookshelves and thought, _I can't think like this anymore. I am the Queen._

She walked along each of the shelves, brushing her hand against the books until she reached an empty space. There was only one book missing from the archive – her parent's. Luckily the Royal Advisors were able to band together and write a short novel on the major events that happened in the past few years. Elsa stared at the blank space for a few more seconds when a sudden knocking brought her back to reality. She spun around and thought to herself, _I really need to stop day dreaming._

The knocks were uneven and came in a set of five. Recognition flashed across Elsa's face as she realised who was at the door. Anna. Her sister was the only person Elsa really felt comfortable around. "Come in Sis!"

Anna opened the door and ran to give Elsa a hug. As usual she had a huge smile across her face. Elsa could see Anna was excited about something. She wondered what it could be. Maybe Kristoff finally asked Anna for her hand in marriage. Elsa couldn't keep her curiosity at bay any longer. "What's made you so crazy Anna?"

"Elsa, you'll never believe it! The guards were cleaning out Mom and Dad's room and they found all this cool stuff! There's so many trinkets from all these different kingdoms that I didn't even know about!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a small ruby. When she held it up to the light Elsa noticed how perfect it was. Never had she seen such a flawless gem before.

"Wow, that's amazing Anna! As soon as I finish up in here I'll be sure to stop by your room and take a look at everything," Elsa said, as she noticed a flash of disappointment on Anna's face. It was there for barely a second, but she noticed it.

"When do you think you'll be finished?"

She could leave whenever she wanted to but there was something about looking through her parent's things that didn't appeal to her. She lied and said, "I still have a few books to finish, I'll try to finish them as fast as I can though."

"Oh…okay." Anna looked down at the floor as she said, "It just feels like I'm losing you again. I don't want to go back to the way things were." She looked towards the door. "I just can't go back to knocking on a door that would never open."

Elsa noticed Anna's eyes starting to glisten. She was crying. Elsa quickly went back to her sister and hugged her as tight as she could. She had no idea what to say but she whispered, "I will never leave you alone like that again. I promise."

Anna wiped her face dry and the smile returned to her face. "Thanks Elsa, that means a lot to me. Well I better go get ready, Kristoff wants to take me out by the lake tonight. He thinks he's romantic or something."

Elsa couldn't help but laugh. Anna always made fun of Kristoff for his romantic escapades, but Elsa knew she secretly loved them. "Dinner by the lake with the city lights illuminating the mountains in the background? Yeah definitely doesn't sound romantic to me Sis. Have fun!"

Anna smirked and started heading for the door. As she reached the exit she spun around and said, "I almost forgot! The guards found this book hidden under a panel in Dad's drawer. I haven't looked at it yet, I thought you would want to see it first. You should read it when you get the chance." Anna grabbed the book out of her bag and tossed it to Elsa. "I never liked reading anyways. Okay I need to run, I'm late. Bye!" She ran out of the room, leaving Elsa speechless.

Elsa looked at the cover of the book. There was no title, just the royal symbol. Just like the rest of the archive books. Could this really be the missing piece? She opened the book and recognized her Father's handwriting scribbled across the pages. She was too excited to read anything, she just kept flipping pages until she recognized her name. She read:

_One of our longest allies, the Kingdom of Corona, has suffered a great loss today. The Queen's child has gone missing. She fears her second child, the twin sister of the first, may suffer the same fate so she has sent her to live here until they can find the missing princess. The Queen of Corona was only expecting one child, so the Kingdom assumes that their only child has gone missing. They wish to keep it this way to protect their remaining child. We have promised to raise her as our own until it is safe for her to return home. No one will know of Elsa's origin until the day it is safe for her to return home. _

Elsa dropped the book and sat down. She could feel the room spinning around her. She was so confused and scared. What did this mean? She looked down and noticed ice starting to spread around her. Elsa quickly stood up and moved towards the window facing the North Mountain. For some reason the sight of it always seemed to calm her down. Once she regained her composure she reread that part of the book again and again. She wouldn't accept what it said. She couldn't. After hours of rereading the same paragraph she put the book down. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks.

Quietly, barely loud enough for herself to hear it, she said, "I'm…adopted?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I just wanted to quickly thank everyone who read/followed/favourited/reviewed the first chapter. It means a lot to me knowing that other people actually enjoy my stories! I hope you enjoy this chapter even more than the last.**

**So without further ado, here's chapter two!**

"I'm…adopted?"

Elsa left the archive and ran out of the room. She couldn't take it anymore. Thoughts raced through her mind as she ran down the halls of the castle. _Should I tell Anna? Does anyone know about this? Why didn't my parents ever tell me? _As different parts of her past started flashing before her eyes she wondered, _who am I?_

The guards tried to calm her down as she ran by but she wouldn't stop. One guard even tried blocking her way and said, "Queen Elsa! Please tell us what's wrong!"

Elsa roughly pushed the guard aside and kept her head down. She didn't want them to see their Queen's tears. She didn't look at the guard but she managed to mumble, "Everything is well. I'll be in my room for the next few hours. Make sure no one disturbs me." Before the guard could answer, she was gone.

Once she reached her room she locked the door and put of a layer of ice around it. She didn't want anyone to hear what she might accidently say out loud. She sat on a chair beside her window and put the book in her lap.

She looked out the window and couldn't hold it in anymore. She let her tears form a river down her face as she stared out her window. This time though, she didn't stare at the North Mountain, but past it. She stared into the emptiness beyond Arendelle.

Elsa turned back towards the book and realised how much ice and snow was around her on the floor. It was strange though, usually when she lost control ice would form randomly all around her. She stared at the floor and realised the ice was in the shape of a sun, with her in the center of it.

Realising she was wasting time, she forgot about the strange pattern and focused on the book again. She could still feel the tears rolling down her cheeks but she had calmed down enough to start reading again. She let out a sigh and said, "Here we go…"

She opened the book to the page she left off at and took a deep breath. She skimmed over the part she had already read and continued on. Her Father wrote:

_No one will know of Elsa's origin until the day it is safe for her to return home. _

_The Queen of Corona has also warned us of Elsa's power. When she entered labour her body could not handle giving birth to twins. She became gravely ill. Fearing the worst, the King poured his last hopes for his future family into the Legend of the Sun. _

_I have not heard much about this story, but apparently a drop of sunlight struck the land many years ago and a beautiful flower grew in its place. The flower was said to have magical properties that could heal the sickest of souls. The King sent all of his palace guards into the forest to search for the flower. _

_The second part of the Legend is the part they are more worried about. While the flower did have the eternal power of healing and restoration, it also brought destruction with it. Those who abuse the flower were said to be consumed by an overwhelming greed. Those who destroy the flower are said to be heirs of the curse. _

_Neither the King or Queen is sure what being _the heir of the curse_ entails, but they have noticed strange things happening around Elsa and have told us to keep a close eye on her. However, the only strange occurrence with her sister is, while the whole lineage of Corona royals have had brown hair, she has golden hair. _

_My wife and I have promised to protect her secret with our lives. _

Elsa put the book down and tried to think about everything she had read. She rubbed her temples with her index fingers to try to ease away the pounding. "I am the Queen of Arendelle, one of the greatest Kingdoms in the land, and I have the ability to cast an eternal winter. I'm probably one of the most powerful women in the world, yet this book has the power to completely destroy me."

She threw herself across her bed and pulled a sheet over her. She never felt cold anymore so she didn't really need it, but it made her feel normal. _How can I be a fearless leader if I can't even read a book without getting scared? _

Lost in her thoughts, Elsa started to drift out of consciousness. Within a few minutes she was out cold, her hand outstretched towards the book by her windowsill.

* * *

"Anna get away from me, I can't control it anymore." Elsa looked around wildly as she searched for a place to hide. She was in the mountains again but she couldn't find her palace. "I need to find somewhere to hide. Anywhere. Anna, please leave me."

"No Elsa! We're in this together remember? I was finally starting to get my sister back, I'm not losing you now!" Anna reached out her hand toward Elsa. "Please Elsa…"

Elsa smacked it away. She could see tears building up in Anna's eyes. Usually that would cause some sort of guilt but for some reason she didn't care. Without any emotion in her voice she said, "You aren't my sister. Now leave me!"

Anna quickly wiped the tears from her face and toughened up. She stretched her hand back out towards Elsa and said, "You will always be my sister."

"Anna, you don't know what I am. What I'm capable of. Just please….go away."

"I'm not leaving here without you!"

Elsa felt a rage build up inside her. She raised her hands up to her head and tried to just forget. But she couldn't. She felt the rage slowly make its way through her body until she could no longer control it. As she threw her arms towards Anna she yelled, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Elsa watched as Anna flew through the air with a shard of ice in chest. She could see the shard starting to turn red around where it had pierced Anna's heart. "I warned you Anna. I warned you…."

* * *

Elsa jolted up to the sound of screaming outside her door. _It was just a nightmare Elsa. Pull it together. _She wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly tried to forget about the dream. Outside she could hear Anna yelling at the guards to let her in.

Elsa made her way towards the door and melted the ice covering it. She then opened the door with a smile and said, "Hey Anna, can I help you?"

"Elsa! I've been trying to get in here for hours! Are you okay? The guards told me that you were acting strange. I came to make sure everything was-"

"I'm fine Anna." She could see that Anna didn't believe her so she tried to change the subject. "I was wondering if you came across anything mentioning Corona when you were looking through Mom and Dad's things. It's a different Kingdom, I'm not exactly sure where. Even a map would be great."

Anna's frown quickly turned into a smile as she realised she could finally be of help to her sister. She excitedly said, "I think so! I think it might still be in their room!" Anna reached out and grabbed Elsa's arm. "Let's go check it out!"

Elsa was dragged out of her room into the hallway. Once the guards were out of earshot, Anna turned to her with a serious face and said, "Is something going on? You know you can trust me Elsa. We're sisters. We're in this together right?"

Elsa couldn't help but shudder as she remembered a part of her nightmare. _We're in this together remember?_ She hastily tried to conceal her fright and smiled. She didn't know if she should tell Anna about her true lineage or of her nightmare yet so she just nodded and said, "Right. Don't worry, I'm fine."

As if on cue, Anna's smile returned to her face as she said, "Perfect! Okay time to find that Ciruna thing you wanted to know about."

Elsa laughed and said, "It's Corona, not Ciruna!"

"Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure I heard Carena. Or maybe you're right. You know maybe we should…"

Anna kept rambling on about every thought that came to her head but Elsa could no longer pay attention. She kept thinking about her father's book and the nightmare. So many things were happening at once. It was just so hard to keep up.

_What is happening to me?_


	3. Chapter 3

"This is all they found with Corona on it. I don't know how much help it's going to be though." Anna held out the small piece of cloth to Elsa. "It doesn't look very useful."

The cloth was folded small enough to fit in the palm of Elsa's hand. She turned it over and saw the words _Kingdom of Corona_ sewn around it. She carefully placed it in her pocket. She didn't want to unwrap it with Anna watching over her.

"It's just what I was looking for. Thanks a lot Anna."

"No problem! What's in this Carona place anyways?"

"Anna, for the fifth time it's Co-ro-na," She said as she resisted the urge to laugh.

Anna looked at her mockingly and said, "Okay fine, what's in _Co-ro-na_?"

Elsa quickly looked away from Anna. She hated lying to her sister. The past few years have been the greatest of her life because she had finally been able to confide in someone. With all of the discoveries she'd been making lately she wasn't sure if she should tell Anna. Suddenly a phrase she hadn't used in a while resurfaced in her thoughts. _Conceal, don't feel. Right Dad?_

She looked back at Anna, finally making a decision. "I might have to go to their Kingdom to renegotiate our alliance….just boring Queen stuff." She turned away again, unable to look at her sister without feeling a twinge of guilt in her stomach. _It is becoming too easy to lie to her. I don't like it._

"Are you sure Elsa? You've been acting weird lately." Anna smiled and added, "And you know when_ I_, Anna, Queen of awkward and weird situations, say someone's acting weird, they must be acting weird."

_I'm adopted and had a dream that I killed you. I have no idea who I really am anymore and I might have a twin sister in a different Kingdom. _"It's nothing Anna. You really need to stop worrying about me, I'm fine." Elsa clenched her fists and felt her jaw tighten up. _More lies,_ she thought_. _

It was just about midnight and Elsa was dying to find out what the cloth was hiding. Eager to avoid any more of Anna's question she faked a yawn and said, "I think I'm going to head to bed now. Thanks again for your help Anna." She walked out of the room before Anna could respond.

Anna looked down where Elsa had been standing and saw a small piece of paper folded up on the floor. She bent down and picked it up. "Hey Elsa hold on! I think you dropped something!" Anna turned around to hand it to Elsa but she had already left the room.

Anna carefully unfolded the paper and looked it over. The left side of the page was torn, as if it was ripped out of a journal. The stared at the handwriting for a long time before actually reading the page. The writing looked familiar but she couldn't place where she had seen it before.

"I shouldn't be looking at this without Elsa…" she said to herself. "She would kill me if she found out I was reading this without her permission." She turned the note over and over in her hand. The longer she held it, the stronger the desire to read it became. "Well I guess a peak wouldn't hurt…"

The page only had writing on one side. It was extremely messy, as if it had been done in a rush. It took her a while to decipher the messy penmanship but after a few minutes she was able to read most of it. It said:

_-not a blessing at all. It may appear as if it is a great gift that she must learn to control and use for the good of others but it is nothing like that at all. We must help her forget about everything that has happened. The power will consume her if she continues down the path she is on. I've noticed the small changes in her personality. Anxiety. Fear. Rage. _

Anna's excitement started to take over. "Woah this sounds crazy! I can't stop reading now!" She loved hearing the stories about heros and monsters in the Kingdom. Suddenly her eyes grew large as she put the pieces together in her head. "Elsa must be getting ready to attack whatever this journal is talking about! That's why she needs to make the alliance with Corona, she needs their help!"

Everything was finally starting to fall into place. It was the only way to explain Elsa's strange behaviour. Convinced she finally figured everything out, Anna continued reading:

_The trolls have assured me their magic will be able to control the curse, but the magic would take a great toll on the heir's body. They have advised us to wait until she is at least of age to become Queen. This will give her body enough time to strengthen and handle what is to come. The magic will completely destroy her memories; she will have no idea who she is or what she is able to do. _

_Until then, the trolls have told us to keep her in isolation. We will have to make sure no one discovers her secret. Right now the only thing stopping her from truly being consumed by the curse is her fear of embracing it. I shall encourage her to hide, make her feel as if she is strange and must put on a show for everyone else. It will kill me to do this to her but it will save her life, and I would happily give my life for hers any day. _

"Trolls? Does Kristoff know about this monster?"

_I truly wish I didn't have to include this in the archive, but it is the future King and Queen's right to know of what we have planned. I will also include the symbol of the curse. After years of searching I have finally found a signal that shows us when she will truly is. Once she creates it, even if it is by accident or subconsciously, all hope is lost. _

_I pray every day to the Heavens to forgive me for what I must do for my Kingdom. For what I must do for my daughter. We have control over our own destinies, no one can tell us who to be. Now I will give Elsa the power to resist the curse. The power to create any destiny she chooses. I will not let her become a monster._

Anna felt a sharp pain building up in her chest. It made its way up towards her face, causing her to shudder. As it made its way up her face, her eyes started to water. Her Mother once told her knowledge always came at a price. She never truly believed that. Until now.


	4. Chapter 4

As Elsa returned to her room she kept an eye out for any guards. She realised she couldn't waste any more time. She couldn't keep lying to Anna. She needed to know what was going on with her powers and she needed to know it as soon as possible.

Finally finding a guard positioned outside her room, she said, "I need you to deliver a message to Captain Matteo for me."

"Of course my Queen. What shall I tell him?"

"Tell him to prepare two horses for tomorrow night; one for myself and one for him. Tell him to meet me outside the city gates after nightfall. You are to tell nobody of this."

Elsa could see the suspicion in the guard's eyes and started to worry. If this one man told anyone what was going on, everything could go downhill. She knew what she had to do if she couldn't trust him, she just hoped it didn't have to come to that. She thought, _please don't make me do something I'll regret._

After a few seconds the guard finally said, "I will notify him immediately." Before leaving he bowed his head and added, "Goodnight Queen Elsa."

As the guard was bent over Elsa noticed a strange necklace hanging out of his shirt. It as a simple piece of string wrapped around his neck, but the pendant is what drew in her curiousity. It was a small dagger piercing the center of a sun. As Elsa stared harder at the necklace, she realised the sun on the guard's pendant was the same design as the sun she had accidently created earlier out of ice.

Before she could ask any questions, the guard walked away to notify his captain. Left confused and tired, Elsa tried to forget about the coincidence and opened the door to her room. She was relieved that the guard would carry her message to the captain with no questions asked, yet it was hard to completely forget about his necklace.

She placed collapsed on her bed and let her thoughts take over as she drifted to sleep. _I have never been so confused in my life. What is going on with me? Who can I trust? Who already knows about this curse? Am I even the heir of the curse? What does that even mean? Will I find any answers in Corona or am I just chasing a crazy superstition?_

Plagued with so many questions and barely any answers, Elsa rolled around for hours before managing to fall asleep.

* * *

"Please leave me alone!" Elsa cried out. A man approached her, a dagger ready in his hand. She knew if he came any closer she would have to use her magic on him. "I don't want to hurt you! Please leave!"

The man smirked as he said, "You're a monster. You don't want to hurt _anyone_, but you will. No matter how much you fight it, you will become exactly what you fear most." He took another step forward.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Now get away from me!"

The man burst out laughing. "You couldn't even if you tried," he said as he took another step forward.

Elsa felt the rage and fear building up inside her all at once. She didn't recognize this man at all, but she felt such a strong hatred for him. She focused as much power as she could towards him and yelled, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Instantly a pillar of ice flew towards the man. As it flew through the air she looked at his eyes, hoping to see fear. She only found pride. Was he happy to die? As the pillar came closer to him, it started cracking along the middle. Once it was just a few feet in front of him it split and divided. One half of the pillar passed his right ride and the other his left, leaving him unharmed.

A dark smirk crawled across his face as he dashed forward and plunged the dagger directly into her chest. "Told you."

Elsa crumpled to the floor. She tried to ask him how it was possible that her magic didn't work on him but she could only manage to whisper, "How…"

The man looked down on her, his face completely expressionless. "You've been warned."

She tried to move but she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She could feel her body starting to give up. She took one last look at her killer. He looked like a young man, probably in his mid-twenties. He had brown hair that reached his cheek bones and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a cloak that masked the rest of his body but she noticed a small piece of silver hanging from his neck.

As her vision started to blacken around the edges, she tried to focus as hard as she could on the silver. As she took her final breathe, she realised why it caught her attention and gasped. It was a pendant of a sun being pierced by a dagger.

* * *

Elsa woke up drenched in sweat. She immediately brought her hands to her chest to feel where she had been stabbed. All she could feel was her smooth skin. _Just a dream, _she thought, _it was just a dream._

She got out of bed, still trying to convince herself it was just a nightmare, and made her way to her window. The sun was starting to set. _Did I really just sleep through the whole day?_ Suddenly she felt a jolt of energy surge over her as she realised where she was supposed to be. "Captain Matteo!"

Remembering she was supposed to meet Captain Matteo outside the city gates in an hour, she quickly showered and prepared herself for the trip. She changed out of her royal dress and into a white jacket and blue pants. It was better if people didn't recognize her as the Queen. She took her hair out of her characteristic braid and brought it up into a ponytail. She didn't even recognize herself anymore, there was a good chance no one else would.

As she walked out of the room she noticed her Father's book and the cloth she found in his room. She desperately wanted to find out what was in the cloth, but she had to get outside the city. She grabbed the cloth and book and stashed them in her bag and headed out of the palace.

Before she left her room she whispered to herself, "Father, I hope you knew what you were talking about."

* * *

When she finally arrived outside the palace gates, she saw the two horses and Captain Matteo. Matteo was putting the saddles on the horses and had his back to her.

She walked up to him and said, "Good evening Captain, thank you so much for meeting me out-" Elsa jumped back as Matteo turned around. Suddenly furious, she yelled, "What is going on here?!" The man she had thought was Matteo was actually the guard she asked to inform his Captain of the journey.

"No need to worry my Queen. You said you didn't want anyone finding out about your little escapade. If I had went to notify Matteo like you asked it would risk others finding out." He could see the disproval on Elsa's face and added, "Don't worry, I used to be a messenger so I know how to get to most of the other Kingdoms in the area. The name's Aron."

Elsa knew she should have just told Matteo herself. Aron did have a point though, anyone could have overheard him talking to Matteo if he had passed the message along. _Oh well, I guess this guy will have to do._

Aron went back to setting up the saddles and asked, without trying to hide his impatience, "Well, which Kingdom will we be heading to?"

"Corona. I'm not sure how far it is from-"

"It will take us a day to get there without any breaks," he interrupted as he finished off the saddles.

_Arrogant guard. He's lucky I need him right now. _Elsa brushed off the disrespect and replied, "Very well, let's get started then."

Halfway through their journey, Elsa noticed the occasional crack of a branch or the rustle of a bush behind them. "Aron, did you hear that?"

"Yes my Queen, sometimes these things known as animals live in forests like this one."

"Shut up," Elsa said, glaring at him. _Who gives their Queen this much attitude?_ "I'm pretty sure it's more than just an animal Aron, the sounds have been -" She didn't get to finish her sentence as an arrow flew by her, missing her chest by an inch.

Aron immediately spurred his horse in the direction of the shooter and yelled, "Hide Elsa! Now!" Within a few seconds he was out of sight.

Elsa spurred her horse in the opposite direction, hoping she could outrun the attackers. Fear completely took hold of her. She started talking to herself and whispered, "Come on Elsa, stay calm. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm."

From her left a man rode straight into Elsa's horse with his own, knocking her to the ground. Dazed by the attack, she tried to crawl away from the man. She looked back and saw that he was already on his feet, coming towards her with a dagger in his hand. She felt herself shaking as she realised, _this is just like in my dream. I need to get out of here!_

Just as the hunter was about to take a step forward, a dagger pointed out from his chest. Another man behind him removed the dagger and let the attacker crumple to the floor.

"Lucky day for you isn't it my lady? Saved in the middle of nowhere by a handsome young man!"

She looked behind her, towards where Aron had run off. He was still nowhere to be seen." Yes, lucky me I suppose."

As her saviour cleaned off his blade he said, "Where are you heading so late at night anyways?"

Elsa tried to think of a lie that could get rid of the man, but nothing came to mind. She could say she was waiting for her guide, but what regular woman would have a guide? Her ability to think on the spot failing her, she said, "Corona. I have family there I was hoping to meet up with."

"Corona? Wow you have no idea how lucky you are! I know the safest route to Corona and I would be happy to escort you there. No charge." The man smirked and quickly added, "Well maybe just a kiss…"

Elsa looked at him with a completely unimpressed look. "Really?"

"I'm just joking, although I know I'm most likely the man of your dreams. No, you see I have a beautiful woman waiting for me back in Corona – one that will most likely be wondering where I am if I don't start heading back." He started walking away and said, "You coming blondie?"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

He laughed and said, "Don't worry, you can. I'm kind of a big deal in Corona. You'll see."

Elsa looked back towards where Aron had ran. She couldn't wait for him, she needed to get to Corona. This guy, smug as he was, could be her last chance to get there. She gave a silent prayer for Aron's safety and said, "Okay fine, let's go." Imitating his confident voice, she said, "May I know my saviour's name?"

The man gave her a look of uncertainty, as if he wasn't sure what to say. It was only for a brief second before his smug confidence came back as he said, "My name's Flynn. Flynn Rider."


	5. Chapter 5

Anna looked around the archive, eager for anything that could tell her more about what she had read the previous day. There was no way she was going to believe it unless she could find more proof. _Will I be able to believe it even if it's the truth though? _She looked around the archive for anything that mentioned Corona but she couldn't find anything.

"Princess Anna, sorry to interrupt your studies," a palace guard said as he entered the room. "Kristoff is asking to see you in the main chamber. Shall I tell him you're on your way?"

Anna couldn't help but laugh. _The guards think _I'm _studying?! That's too funny, I never study! _Realising she should give an answer to the guard instead of just standing there and laughing at herself like a fool, she said, "Uhm...I don't think I'll be able to see him today. I'm really busy and I just want to get this reading over with."

The guard didn't try to hide the surprise on his face. In the past two years, she had never refused to see Kristoff when he had come to see her. Not even once. But nothing had ever been this important to her. "Okay Princess, I will let him know immediately."

As the guard started walking away, Anna added, "Please tell him I really wish I could though! I just really want to get this work done without any distractions."

The guard turned around and couldn't help but notice the longing on Anna's face. She really did want to be with Kristoff. "Of course, I'm sure Kristoff will understand. Don't worry about it your majesty. I will personally notify him when you are able to see him again." Seeing the smile this brought to Anna's face, he left the archive and left to pass the message onto Kristoff.

Alone once again, Anna tried to focus. "Now, where would Elsa put books she doesn't want anyone else to see?" Anna scanned the bookshelves looking for anything that would give her an answer. It finally dawned on her when she reached an empty space in the row of books. "Wow, I'm an idiot aren't I? Of course she has them with her, she wouldn't just leave them here for anyone to see. Well that ruined my whole detective plan for today."

She was about to leave the archive when she noticed a small chip in the wood behind an old book she had moved. "How did the wood get chipped behind the books?" She moved more of the books to the side and wiped the shelf clean of dust.

When the space was clean, she noticed a small symbol of a sun carved into the back of the bookshelf. She tried to feel around for any more symbols carved into the wood but there was nothing else. She accidently leaned forward too much and lost her balance, falling forwards.

She let out a scream and pushed on the back of the shelf to regain her balance. When she did, she heard a feint crack. "Oh man, Elsa is going to kill me if I break this bookshelf!" Anna looked at the back and saw the crack forming along the edge of the sun. She traced it and realised the crack formed in a perfect circle around the symbol. "That's weird…"

Consumed by her curiosity, Anna pushed harder on the crack. As she did, a chunk of wood in the shape of a circle around the sun started to push further into the bookshelf. After a few seconds of pushing, she noticed a small pouch in the hidden drawer. She looked at it with pride and said, "Never mind, I'm a fantastic detective!"

Anna carefully emptied the contents of the pouch into her hand. The pouch contained a small piece of parchment and a blue crystal. The crystal looked nothing like the crystals she had ever seen. The edges were a light blue, and as you looked further into it the blue became much darker and prominent. The light caused it to sparkle like nothing she had ever seen before.

A long moment passed before she was able to draw her attention away from the crystal and focus on the parchment. She carefully unrolled it and recognized the writing as the same writing from the page she found earlier. No longer able to control her curiosity, she read:

_If you are reading this, you are in grave danger. Something horribly dark is coming to Arendelle, something I could have never dreamed of. All the research I have been doing revolving around a fabled curse has attracted unwanted attention. I fear I have put my whole family in harm's way. I must hide my discoveries from the archive until I know for certain that we are safe. I am so close to discovering the truth._

_My wife and I sail out tomorrow to the island of Rogana. The King and Queen of Corona have agreed to join us on our journey and will be meeting us there. Rogona is a small island not too far from Corona where this wretched cult originated. It is only a half-day sail away from here, but leaving Elsa alone troubles me. She has been having a hard time keeping control of her powers lately._

"Elsa? How does this person know Elsa?"

_I hope I am able to negotiate a peace with Rogana and put an end to this silent war. Once this is all over we may finally be able to open the gates of Arendelle. It has been years since I have even let my daughter Anna out of the castle. It's just too risky._

"Dad?"

_If I somehow fail in my journey to Rogana, who ever reading this note is truly of grave importance to the Kingdom. Take this jewel and protect it with your life. It is one of the last pieces of the puzzle they need before they can execute their plans. Make sure it never falls into the hands of anyone untrustworthy – ESPECIALLY anyone baring the symbol of Rogana. Dark times are coming. Be ready._

Stunned, Anna noticed the bottom of the parchment was stamped with the royal seal of Alendelle beside the same sun that was carved into the bookshelf. She couldn't believe what was going on.

"War? I thought that things were finally becoming normal around here and now I have to worry about protecting this rock from some random group?" She could feel her eyes starting to water. "Dad…I wish you were here. What am I supposed to do?"

Taking one last look at the parchment, she shoved it, along with the jewel, into her pocket. She wiped her eyes before any tears could fall. Her Father had told her exactly what to do. She would get ready for whatever it was that he was so worried about. She realised that his death on that ship was no accident. She would continue her Father's work and stop whatever Rogana was planning. If only she knew where to start…

She kept repeating the last line of the letter over and over again in her head and she headed towards the main chamber.

_Dark times are coming. Be ready._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So I know it took me a while to get this chapter out to you guys, sorry about that! School has been extremely busy and my schedule is packed this semester. I also took a lot of time with this chapter because I had a few options on how to progress with the story and I wanted to make sure I picked the best possible path! I will definitely be updating the story at least once a week from now on though! As always, thanks again for all the support. Enjoy!**

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"So tell me blondie, what's a beautiful young woman like you doing out in the woods all alone in the middle of the night?"

Elsa snapped back to reality. She decided she would have to trust Flynn until she got to Corona. Once she was there, she could get rid of him and find the King and Queen. Only another hour and she would finally be able to solve this mystery. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

Eager to change the subject, she said, "Beautiful young woman? , are you sure you should be talking to me like that? I thought you had a girl waiting for you back home."

A smirk made its way across Flynn's face as he said, "Easy there, I'm just stating some facts blondie. I do have a woman waiting for me back home, but that doesn't mean I can't tell someone their beautiful. I'm just stating facts, that's all."

Elsa couldn't help blush and stare at the ground. She tried to say something back to him but she couldn't get any words to come out of her mouth. _Really? I'm a Queen. A random guy I met in the woods shouldn't be able to make me feel like this._ She looked back up at Flynn and thought, _Come on Elsa, say something. Anything. Don't just stare at him like that. _Still unable to say anything, she looked down again and kept walking.

Flynn looked over towards Elsa and noticed how flustered she was and said, "You don't get out much do you blondie?"

After a long moment of regaining her composure, she answered, "No. This is actually my first time leaving my Kingdom." Realising he would ask more questions about her past, Elsa quickly added, "Why do you keep calling me blondie? You know I have a name right?"

"Okay I'll let you in on a little story. Once upon a time I met a blonde girl in the middle of nowhere and she ended up being in the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met. I tried to get rid of her but she wouldn't leave me alone. She even managed to resist my charms and chiseled features!"

Elsa let out a laugh. She realised she hadn't laughed like this for as long as she could remember. "So you're saying I remind you of a stubborn blonde girl that you couldn't get rid of? Perfect."

"Pretty much!" Flynn laughed and for the first time, Elsa could see past his smug confidence and sarcasm. "That girl I've got waiting at home, she's the one I found in the middle of nowhere last time. Even though she was, and still is, completely crazy and insane, I fell in love with her ended up marrying her. She changed her hairstyle now so I can't really call her blondie anymore. Looks like I'll have to pass the name down to you."

An unfamiliar pain shot through Elsa's body. It started in her chest and slowly made its way throughout her whole body. _I can't keep talking to him like this. He's married. Someone is waiting for him at home, I can't come between that. _Pushing the strange pain away, she said, "Well I'm honoured. But I would love it if you could use my actual name."

"Well then _blondie,"_ he said with a smirk, "what's your name?"

Realising she hadn't told him her name yet, Elsa started to panic. _I can't tell him my actual name, he might know who I am. I'm sure people have heard of the Queen with the power to control ice. I need to keep my identity a secret. It's better if only the King and Queen know who I am and why I'm in Corona. _After a long pause she answer, "My name is Anna."

Flynn turned around and locked eye contact with Elsa. "Well then Anna, it was a pleasure to meet you." He leaned forward and kissed Elsa on the cheek. It was barley anything – customary of most Kingdoms actually. Yet Elsa was completely flustered when it happened.

_If that's what a peck on the cheek feels like, _she thought to herself, _I wonder what an actual kiss feels like._

The next half hour passed by silently as Flynn lead the way. Elsa spent the time lost her in thoughts, thinking about things she knew she shouldn't be thinking about. As if out of nowhere, Corona suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Elsa's eyes filled with wonder as they approached the main gates. Corona was massive, way bigger than Arendelle. The two Kingdoms seemed similar in design and architecture, but the size difference completely blew Elsa away. _No wonder Mom and Dad wanted them as allies. I bet they could fight off any enemy army with only half of their soldiers._

Flynn noticed Elsa's state of wonder and gestured towards the city gates. "Welcome to Corona! You must be from a pretty small town if you are this amazed by it."

"You mean there are Kingdoms that are even bigger than this one?!"Elsa couldn't contain her excitement. All her life she had been locked away in her room, and even after escaping isolation she was always still trapped inside her castle. For the first time in her life she was free to explore the world.

"You bet. Arendelle isn't small, but it isn't massive either. So Anna, where shall I drop you off?"

"The Royal Palace please. I need to see the King and Queen."

Flynn spun around and Elsa could see the curiosity in his face. "Oh? You need to speak to King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel? What for?"

Elsa tried to decide if she should trust Flynn or not. _He did save my life. And he brought me all the way here for nothing in return. And he's attractive. Very attractive. _Although she desperately wanted to, she decided against it and said, "I just have a few questions for them, nothing major."

Flynn started walking towards the Palace and Elsa followed. "Well Anna, here's a warning for you." Seeing her starting to giggle, he added, "I'm being serious! You need to be careful around King Eugene."

"Why's that?"

Flynn's smiled widened as if he was happy she asked. "Because he is the most charming and handsome man in the Kingdom…actually more like the whole world. Yeah definitely the whole world."

Curious about the comment but too distracted by the new Kingdom around her, Elsa didn't push him further on the subject and followed him silently.

When they finally reached the castle, Flynn gestured towards it and said, "Well blondie, here we are! I'll bring you all the way up to the King and Queen, I'm sure they'd love to answer your questions."

Excitement and anticipation building up inside her, Elsa said, "No its okay Flynn! I can find them on my own from here. Thank you so much for your help; it was extremely kind of you to be my knight in shining armour." Flynn was about to insist but Elsa cut him off and said, "Trust me Flynn, I'll be fine."

Locking eye contact with Flynn, Elsa couldn't help but remember all her fantasies in the forest and starting thinking. _I wonder if I…_ Letting the adrenaline completely take control of her, Elsa quickly leaned in and kissed Flynn right on the lips. Soon as they locked lips Elsa felt like she was in a completely different world. She had never felt as alive as she had in that moment. She closed her eyes and let the fireworks take place all around her.

Flynn didn't pull away. At first it looked as if he might try but then she saw that wondrous feeling overwhelm him as well. After a long moment, Elsa pulled away and gasped for air. She couldn't believe what she just did. _I just kissed a married man! I'm horrible!_ Yet she didn't care. People had always told her how magical a kiss could be and she never believed them, but after that moment with Flynn she realised that their kiss was more magical than anything she had ever experienced before. She opened her eyes and looked at Flynn and instantly knew he felt the same way.

As she was about to lean in for another kiss, she heard someone yelling. Flynn snapped back to reality and the moment was over – yet he didn't take is eyes off of Elsa.

"Eugene? Eugene is that you?" A woman with short brown hair around Elsa's age ran out of the castle entrance towards them. She hadn't seen the kiss. She ran forward and embraced Flynn. Flynn hugged back, but he was still staring at Elsa. "Eugene! The guards told me you were back, I was worried!" The woman shifted her attention to Elsa, smiled, and said, "Who's this?"

Flynn snapped out of his daze and said, "Oh this is Anna…she has a few questions for us."

A long moment passed by as Elsa tried to clear her head and think about what just happened. _King Eugene? He's the King? He lied about his name just like I did! _Suddenly realising what she had done, she thought, _Oh my God…I didn't just kiss a married man…I kissed the King of Corona!_


End file.
